The new PM needs to look at ownership and renting as two sides of the same coin

For what it’s worth I’m not sure who will be picking up the keys to Number 10 – there are no keys by the way – but I look forward to seeing who she chooses in her key Governmental positions. You see what I did there?

Without putting too fine a point on it, the next four months and beyond are going to be a critical time for the whole UK economy, and of course the housing and mortgage markets, and it will be the decisions this new Prime Minister makes that will shape the financial futures for millions of citizens.

So, what can we expect? Well, we will undoubtedly get a new Chancellor. We will get a new Secretary of State for the DLUHC, and under them a new Housing Minister. We are also likely to get an Emergency Budget in double-quick time, and from that the course will be set for the UK’s economy.

We may also get some big shake-ups in terms of the regulation of financial services with suggestions of mergers of regulators, and we may also get a decision to take away the interest rate-setting abilities of the Bank of England, although this does appear to be a big mistake.

Regardless of your view on whether the Bank has been quick enough in reacting to rising inflation by increasing interest rates, do we really trust politicians to set this particular measure? The temptation to massage or fiddle with rates for purely political reasons would – for some politicians – be overwhelming; I would much prefer to see the setting of BBR in the hands of the Bank rather than the PM/Chancellor of the day.

Housing and the mortgage market issues have been debated a little during the Conservative Party leadership hustings, although not at any length or with any tangible policies to review. It looks likely the housing targets of the last Conservative manifesto will be jettisoned, but what – if anything – will take its place. There is undoubtedly a need to increase new-build housing supply but little in the way of a strategy to do so.

By the same measure, the lack of supply in the private rental sector (PRS) continues to hit hard, and at some point you hope those in power recognise the policies of the last decade have merely exacerbated the housing gap, rather than fill it.

I read a recent piece in The Daily Mail which suggested the new PM/Chancellor might well reverse some of those landlord-hitting taxation policies which have thrown the PRS out of kilter. However, this was cited as the views of unnamed ‘experts’ not any of the two PM candidates suggesting this would be high on their agenda.

If anything, it looks like we’ll continue to get policies which focus on first-time buyers, with many politicians still appearing to believe housing is a zero sum game in which landlords have to be punished in order to boost home ownership. The fact these policies have not boosted the number of first-timers, and have in fact merely created a further problem for those seeking places to live, should not be forgotten.

Buy-to-let as an investment and landlords are not going anywhere given the demand for PRS stock, however if profitability continues to be hit then, because of the supply situation, rents will continue to rise not out of greed but out of necessity.

I’ve said it before but it’s worth reiterating, that whatever Government we have, they need to look at ownership and renting as two sides of the same coin, rather than in less than splendid isolation. You cannot rob Peter to pay Paul because the fact that these are two inextricably-linked sectors means you end up hurting both.

If there is to be a re-examination of the policies of previous Governments towards landlords, buy-to-let and the PRS in general, then that would obviously be welcomed. However, regardless of any potential for a u-turn, landlords will continue to see the opportunity that exists through investing in property, and they will continue to act accordingly.

The good news is we have a strong lending community with a positive appetite to lend, excellent advisers who understand the sector, plus landlords have strong tenant demand which is not going anywhere. The time might now have come to recognise this, to give the sector and its participants the respect it is due, and to find policies that help supply housing in all its tenures. We therefore await what comes next with great interest.